Anil Deshmukh can move vacation bench, says Bombay HC

MUMBAI: A bench of Justice S S Shinde and Justice Manish Pitale on Thursday adjourned the petition filed by former home minister Anil Deshmukh and observed that since the CBI had been served it on Wednesday and had asked for time, it should be given reasonable time to file its reply. In the petition, Deshmukh sought quashing of the FIR field against him by the CBI.
The high court then gave Deshmukh liberty to move the vacation bench in case of extreme urgency with 48-hour notice to the CBI. The bench passed an order stating that Singh had sought four weeks, which is “vehemently opposed by Desai” who submits “there is an urgency”.
The high court said it was inclined to grant the CBI reasonable time to file its reply, but on Desai’s request, granted Deshmukh liberty to approach the court for any extremely urgent relief during the court vacation, but with prior notice to the CBI.
Deshmukh’s petition said the FIR followed a “biased, dubious” inquiry, “with ulterior motive at the behest of those having political or other vendetta” against him.
Calling the first information report (FIR) against him “false”, Deshmukh said that prior sanction was necessary to register the FIR against him as he was a minister when the offence was alleged to have occurred. He said the FIR made “bald and vague allegations” and no case of allegations of “illegal gratification” under Section 7 of the PCA or criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the IPC.
The FIR is to have him “arrested, with an ulterior motive”, said the former minister.
The petition said the high directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry and to take further steps “in accordance with law”. He said since the state had last year withdrawn its general consent to the CBI for investigation of offences occurring here, barring a direct order by the high court or the Supreme Court, which was lacking in the case, the agency could not lodge an FIR and investigate it.